From the allure of Victoria’s Secret’s “Love Spell” to mouthwatering graphics that jump off the label, this year’s Tag and Label Mfrs. Inst. award recipients keep all eyes focused on masterful printing and craftsmanship.

TLMI received a total of 223 North American and 50 international entries, of which 52 first place, 35 second place, and 16 honorable mentions were announced in Las Vegas in October during the association’s annual meeting.

For a complete list of winners, contact TLMI at 630/357-9222 or visit tlmi.com.

Colorful and Captivating Collotype Labels, Adelaide, Australia, receives first place in the Wine & Spirits–Offset category for its Avery Lane International entry. The company utilizes four UV offset colors and hot stamp foil. Printing is accomplished in a single pass at 125 fpm, 200 lpi.

The Sweet Smell of Success Multi-Color Corp., Watertown, WI, receives first place honors for its Febreeze Pet Odor Eliminator–800 ml entry in the Offset category. The label is offset printed with six colors including two hits of white using a 150-line screen. Screens are used effectively in both the white and green backgrounds, with smoothness in the fade between the two and at the top edges of the label. The solid green bar provides an effective accent and sets off the enclosed text. Clear in-mold labels stand out well when blow-molded into the product’s light blue plastic containers, the company reports.

Getting the Blues The Labatt Bleue Cold One Can Sleeve entry, submitted by Multi-Color Corp., Cincinnati, OH, takes first place in the Roll to Roll category. The entry is reverse-printed rotogravure using eight colors, two shades of blue, two silvers, and two whites. Complex screens of silver, black, and white reportedly give the label a cold, frosty look. Black screens are used for shadows and to form the bands at the top of the can. The icy images inside the central oval are composed of screens of white, light blue, and dark blue to form icy patterns. Silver is used to highlight the label and silver keylines are used effectively around key elements such as the “Bleue” and maple leaf in the central oval. The label is applied on what is said to be the world’s first insulated beer can.

Colorfully Buggy Spectrum Label Corp., Hayford, CA, is recognized for its Prestone Products Corp. Bug Wash entry in the Flexography category. This label is printed on both sides of an opaque white film laminate. The high-color graphics image had to be visible from inside the bottle while providing copy on the back label with additional process color.

Mountain Fresh In the Cut & Stack category, Multi-Color Corp. receives another first place honor for the Palmolive Mountain Fresh Dishwasher Detergent label. The entry is rotogravure printed using eight colors and a varnish. The company also utilizes three shades of green and two blues printed with a 200-line screen. Process color is used for the trademark hand holding a sparkling glass, and the mountain scene vignette is a combination of process color and spot colors. The label is said to use screens effectively, particularly in the plate, glass, and the bubbles. Screens also are used to add dimensionality.

Good Enough to Eat CL&D Digital, Delafield, WI, is honored in the Food & Beverage Products Plateless Printing category for the Inn on the Creek Stand-Up Bag. A false zipper was added by hand to maintain the integrity of the final product’s appearance for presentation to the retailer. Only four bags (one for each variety) were printed. The client’s goal is to secure permanent shelf placement at the retailer for its line of instant pasta salads and dinners.

Relax and Release Labelgraphics, Glasgow, Scotland, impressed judges in the Wine & Spirits category with its Sunset Bay–Sauvignon International entry. The company uses six flexo colors, one screen color. The label is then foiled and embossed on multi-print paper with a permanent acrylic adhesive.

Form & Function Impressive Labels, Safford, AZ, scores high honors for its HDM Tall Back Panel entry in the Flat Screen Printing category. Per the customer’s request, this label has to be 100% latex-free. In order to meet this challenge, it has to be tested in a specialized lab for any traces of latex. Another challenge when producing the label, which is affixed to a medical collar, is achieving the precise color matches the customer requested.

The Good Old Days Renaissance Mark, Ville de Laval, QC, Canada, receives a first place nod for its Southern Comfort entry in the Wine & Spirits–Offset category. The classic-looking label features bronze imitation and is glue-applied to the spirit bottle.

The Color Purple Dow Industries, Wilmington, MA, receives Best of Show for its work on the Victoria’s Secret Love Spell Hairspray. Entered in the Multi-Process category, the customer’s objectives for this label are good opacity and the highest quality graphics possible. The amount of detail in the image needs to be exceptionally sharp and vibrant and is accomplished through a totally digital workflow, the company reports. A special mixture of magenta and rhodamine is used to enhance the purple. This label uses six colors, run two-color rotary screen and four-color HDUV flexo at 150 fpm with a 175-line screen. The end result is an award-winning label applied to a brushed gold aerosol container.